A great big Thank you to every one of you who supported our project through words and deeds

We are taking our next step in implementing the work that we we indicated in the video.

Since we did not reach our original financial goal it took us a little while to adjust the core of the plan to our financial constraints. Now we have a plan.....

We will install a smaller version of the pond on the hillside.We will place a pump on the big pond and lay waterlines up to the new pond. Then we will connect that upper pond with Alpha for circulation of the waterways and install an irrigation system for the huegels. In addition we will finish the landscaping around the yurt and create a pleasing, well functioning entrance to the property.

We have a busy month ahead of us and we have not forgotten the gifts we promised. Bare with us and we will make good on those promises.

Again.... Thank you so very much for supporting us in our dream..... that is becoming a reality....

We are a group of people that live the understanding that everything is interdependent.

We honor individual expression and are committed to learn, tolerate and celebrate our differences, our strengths and our weaknesses. We strive to build a place where human, animal and plant life can not only live together, but actually live in support of each other emotionally and economically. A place where people can come to re-explore and re-connect to themselves in order to live their truth in this world.

Creating a supportive enviroment especially in support of children and young adults

The Project: Water is Life

In May 2012, with the blessing of the Kootenai People, Sepp Holzer helped us build an incredible installation, his largest in the US. Sepp, known as Austria’s rebel farmer, is an internationally acclaimed earth worker and permaculturist.

The installation was born out of the need to re-energize a watershed that had been deeply compromised by human hand in the past. Gravel was used to fill in the watershed. A long gravel road was built right through the wetland, which transformed the watershed into a dead zone.

Rather than tearing out the gravel road, which would have disturbed the land and waterways tremendously, Sepp created over a kilometer of huglebeds on top of the gravel road. He next surrounded them with waterways filled with streams, ponds and waterfalls. All of this work was harmoniously integrated with the waterways that were present on the land.

The huglebeds have the capacity to feed a large community. They are covered with vegetables, medicinals, fruit trees and bushes. All of these plants are becoming an integrated, self-suporting edible ecosytsem, slowly ridding the need for external watering and fertilizing.

In order for that to happen, it is crucial to maintain the health of the waterways that surround the huegels and support the plant life. Those waterways saturate the ground beneath the huegles, which then wick the moisture up to keep the plantlife hydrated. They capture heat and increase humidity, creating an ideal growing enviroment. The waterways are the foundation for this cultivated paradise. We immediatly saw and increase in the water's vitality after the installation.

What is happening now

Our waterways are distinguished by different ponds and waterfalls. All ponds have the possibility to be controlled individually. They are named according to direction of flow, starting with Alpha and moving towards Gamma.

Alpha is currently the highest pond of the system and sits in front of the house. It has a deep zone of over 22 feet that features fish habitat constructed out of boulders, culverts, and logs. This deep zone provides the fish and water life with a cool place in summer and warm place in winter. It features two islands, one that hosts a willow tree to provide shade and habitat, the other is larger and provides refruge for waterfowl. Young fruit trees surround the entire pond.

Alpha spills into a shallow creek which features a stone crossing. This stream tumbles down a waterfall, large enough to sit under, right into Beta. Beta is edged by Cotton Woods and Aspens and is filled with logs and stumps to provide habitat. With an established community of waterplants Beta is our clearest and coldest pond, providing ideal habitat for countless water creatures.

Beta's water crawls down another stone waterfall into Delta. This waterfall is designed for maximum oxygenation to help insure that our larges pond has adequate oxygen levels for water life. Delta provides a save haven for young fish. With its gravel and silt floor, it is an ideal place for larger fish to spawn.

Delta flows over another waterfall into our largest retention area, Gamma. This pond hosts our largest fish and saturates the soil of a very broad area. Featuring destinct shallow and deep zones it provides diverse and varied habitat. It is also our turtle nursery, brimming with young exuberant amphibians. We have seen Gamma create two springs downhill since its installation. From Gamma the water meanders through a creek to merge with existing waterways and continues its journey to the Flathead Lake.

There is also a small stream that flows through mature riparian habitat directly from Alpha to Gamma. This is our safe haven for frogs and the area where we cultivate mushrooms.

The Kickstarter plan in a nutshell:

It's crucial for the waterways to flow all year round.

In order to maximize waterflow we developed a plan to enhance the existing waterways. The design helps to ensure resilience to climatic changes and upstream irrigation, while providing fire protection and developing further cultivation opportunities.

The first step was to strengthen Alpha’s ability to hold water and host life. We accomplished this in October 2013 by creating a deep zone and lining the entire pond with clay.

Now we must establish a pond high on the property at the base of the hill. This pond will capture snowmelt and runoff from the slope above it and use it to buffer the effects of drought. We will use a solar/wind powered pump to move excess water from the lower ponds into this water retention area when the water flow is at its highest, before the drought season. All of our ponds are sealed with natural materials excavated from the sites of the ponds. This way they all seep some of there waters into the surrounding soil. This ultimately creates more hospitable opportunities for life and buffers the effects of droughts. On top of defending us from drought, the water in this pond will be used for irrigation, fire protection, and to keep the lower waterways full throughout the year.

From there the water will flow through a series of small ponds, streams, and underground pipes into a water retention area in front of the strawbale classroom. Wild and cultivated gardens will surround them all, providing food and habitat for human and animal alike.

The water retention area next to the strawbale class room will be a Krater Garden/Highbed combination. This means we will dig a water retention basin and use the excavated material to construct a 14 foot tall terraced wall of solid earth surrounding the pond on the north side. This installation will provide us with wind protection, a sound/visual barrier, gardening space, and a formal entrance to the sanctuary. The design will be based on an outdoor amphitheater with a central stage surrounded by the pond and seating on the terrace wall. This will be our outdoor stage and venue that will host Musicians, Artists, and Teachers. From here the water will flow back into Alpha to complete the cycle.

Through this installation we ensure a healthy distribution of water amongst the landscape . Through the use of the solar/wind powered pump we will keep the water continuously circulating, even through the dry season. This ensures the vitality of the water and the possibilities it generates.

The social, economic, and ecologic opportunities made possible will be immeasurable.

To bring this incredible installation to fruition we need financial help.

Since the seminar with Sepp in May 2012, we created huglebeds cultivated with vegetables, fruits and grain, waterways, worm and turtle nurseries, grape arbors, an ongoing non-invasive 4 year plan to balance the grasslands, a meditation yurt, a strawbale seminar house and timber framed dwelling for housing the volunteers. All of it was created through personal financing and volunteer efforts.

We now need to finish the waterway expansion so that the interdependence can be observed, felt and learned by many generations to come. We do not have to fight or control nature. We do not have to poison ourselves and our environment to have enough food to eat. We do not have to slaughter and mistreat animals for our needs. We can live with each other harmoniously, recognizing the interdependence of nature as one part of the whole.

With great thanks I acknowledge Michael who is standing next to me in this adventure with his knowledge, his kindness and his vision. And I also extend my gratitude to all of the people who came to help and lent their expertise and good will.

Imagine the impossible and live it.

If you resonate with any of this please dig deep into your pockets and support us by donating through the Indiegogo website.

The Fundraising Project is Supported through the Non profit organisation Aternative Soulutions